New Fao Schwarz Outruns Niketown

September 03, 1992|By John Schmeltzer.

So you think the new Niketown store on North Michigan Avenue is something to behold. Well, in the vernacular, you ain`t seen nothing yet.

Remember the giant piano keyboard from the movie ``Big,`` on which Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia played ``Heart and Soul``? The new FAO Schwarz store at 840 N. Michigan Ave., which is to open in two weeks, has it.

You think the dumbwaiters transporting shoes from stockrooms to the selling floor in clear plastic tubes at Niketown are neat? Wait until you see the Giant Swoop Gravity Loop at FAO Schwarz.

The twin revolving doors will be unlocked Sept. 16 to reveal a toy emporium unlike anything Chicago has seen.

From Spanky the talking bear providing directions to specific merchandise areas, to the giant Schwarz clock just ahead of Spanky, customers young and old will find a museum of toys, 60 percent of which can`t be found or are hard to find elsewhere in the Chicago area.

``This is a world of toys statement,`` John Eyler, president and chief executive of the nation`s oldest toy retailer, said of the store.

The ``statement`` doesn`t stop at the entrance. It continues up the escalators and down the aisles as customers are teased with displays that invite kids and adults to stop and play.

For Eyler, who was named president less than three months ago, the store opening will be a homecoming. Until this spring he was chief executive of the retail subsidiary of Chicago-based Hartmarx Corp. He previously served as chief executive of MainStreet, a division of Federated Department Stores.

But Eyler seemed like a big kid in a candy store as he walked through the grime and dirt this week talking about the latest Schwarz store.

``Retailing is retailing,`` he said.

But retailing clothes is one thing and retailing toys is another. Eyler noted that toy store executives and their kids get to play with toys that are being considered for introduction.

And Eyler was in a hurry. He wanted to see his store. Hustling down an aisle on the third floor, he pointed to the hologram shop.

Stepping around a barrier blocking the escalator, he checked a bank of television screens on which customers will be seen shopping (that is, playing) in various parts of the store.

Then there`s the three-story Giant Swoop Gravity Loop, which Eyler noted is the only one outside the Hong Kong Cultural Arts Center.

``We just call it the Loop,`` said Eyler as he watched tests that sent balls spinning down the tracks every six seconds.

Space is at a premium, despite the store`s 30,000-square-foot size. Even a wall along an escalator is to be stocked with surprises, including a boxing kangaroo.

``Tell dad to duck,`` said Eyler, walking past the wall.

While Schwarz has been an American institution since 1862, the privately held company is eyeing overseas expansion.

The most likely location, according to Eyler, will be Japan or Holland, where the firm`s parent is located.